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Opinion

We must ease up on the refs

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Roar Guru
7th July, 2020
41

It’s no secret the refs tend to get some calls wrong in some eyes.

Take for instance, for the controversial ending of Newcastle’s close defeat against Manly at Brookvale 14-12.

I personally think it could have been a penalty but Tevita Funa was never going to get the ball nor any Manly player. I think it’s ironic that no one called out DCE for holding back Bradman Best for two seconds, but it’s all in the moment.

I loved how well both teams bounced back from their heartbreaking losses the week prior. As a Knights fan, I’m proud our team got the job done and I’ll give my credit to Manly for their never-ending drive to steal the win.

Moving on, we all heard what Addin Fonua-Blake said to Grant Atkins and I applaud Atkins for standing his ground and sending him off despite the clock being up. I understand his frustrations but there’s no excuse from AFB. He said what he said.

Now think if he said that to a police officer – he’s going to go to jail. The refs are the law on the field like the police are the law for society.

From a young age, footy players are taught to respect the ruling of the refs as we are from a young age taught to respect the law.

I do see some criticism from fans towards refs and that’s understandable. I won’t deny I’ve done it a fair amount of times. Usually, the common trend tends to be making a reference about how Stevie Wonder could do a better job.

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Have I criticised the refs before? I have. Do I regret it? No. I’ve learnt not to live with regrets but to learn from it. I have taken a look from the perspectives of the match officials.

Look at Grant Atkins after what he got called. He stood his ground and good on him. The refs cop a lot of shit.

Ray Hadley reported AFB had called referees in the tunnels “a bunch of fucking spastics”. I don’t know if this is true and I hope it’s not but that’s unacceptable. The refs call what they see and if undecided, the Bunker will make the call after careful observation.

Will everyone ever stop criticising the refs? No, because not everyone will agree. It’s all a matter of opinion. It’s like picking between a Ferrari and a Lamborghini.

Just because I’m more of a Ferrari fan doesn’t mean everyone else will be. At the end of the day, the refs are doing their job and deserve far more credit.

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